


42 Ways

by Sunstar77



Series: The Girl and Her Mercenary [1]
Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 16:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13594392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunstar77/pseuds/Sunstar77
Summary: very early Rayne. “There are 42 ways she could kill you with this screwdriver.”





	42 Ways

Jayne and Zoe were moving some crates around in the cargo bay when he noticed River sitting on the catwalk, her pale legs dangling over the edge. She was watching him in that eerie way of hers. He shook his head and went back to his work.

He'd almost forgotten about her, thought she'd gone to bother someone else, when he turned to pick up the next crate and just about jumped out of his skin.

River was perched on the crate, watching him with those big brown eyes. She smiled a less than sane smile at his discomfort.

"Gorramit girl! How many times I gotta tell ya, don't do that!" He glared at her, but her attention was on something else. His expression changed from anger to suspicion. "Whatcha got there Crazy?"

River looked up at him through her hair. She held out the object for him to see. It was a screwdriver she picked up from Kaylee's toolbox. She pulled the object back to her, turning it over in her hand, rolling it like a coin over her fingers.

"What's goin' through that _feng le_ head of yours, little girl?"

River looked up again, her head tipped to one side. "No touching knives, no touching guns. The girl knows the rules." She glanced down at the screwdriver. "There are 42 ways she could kill you with this screwdriver."

Jayne took a quick step back at her words. River jumped down from the crate and stepped up right in front of him. "She won't though." Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and placed the screwdriver in it. Then she danced out of the cargo bay, leaving Jayne looking more bewildered than normal.

"What just happened?" he asked Zoe.

She had an amused smile on her face. "Aww, Jayne, I think she likes you," she teased.

Jayne stared at the woman in disbelief. Turning, he stalked out of the cargo bay, cursing loudly the whole way.

When Kaylee asked if anyone had seen her screwdriver, Jayne stayed silent. Zoe looked at him, one eyebrow raised, but said nothing. River giggled but also stayed quiet. Eventually, Kaylee convinced herself she must have dropped it somewhere in the engine room and went to look for it.

Jayne finished his supper and cleared his place. He wandered down to his bunk. Once inside, he reached into one of the cargo pockets on his pants and pulled out the screwdriver River had handed him. He dug around in his other pocket until he found two small hooks. Jayne set all these things on his bunk and pushed back the blanket tacked to the wall. Behind it was his armory. He pushed the hooks into the wall, making sure they were even and set the screwdriver on them. It looked surprisingly at home there among his weapons. As Jayne let the blanket fall back into place, he couldn't help wonder if he should ask River about some of them 42 ways.


End file.
